GuildCom

http://www.myplainview.com/articles/2008/10/21/breaking_news/11341dh_xml.txt

Microsoft Inc. filed 20 software pirating cases in nine states — including one against a local company — on Monday.

Of the two cases filed in Texas, one was filed in federal district court in Lubbock against Epic Computer Solutions of Plainview. Microsoft alleges the local company installed pirated software on computers sold to local customers.

The suit was filed as part of Microsoft’s Global Anti-Piracy Day. The awareness program is intended to “highlight collaborative efforts to protect customers and partners around the world from software piracy and counterfeiting,” according to a release.

Overall, Microsoft launched education initiatives and enforcement actions in 49 countries.

Microsoft anti-piracy attorney Sharon Cates indicated Epic had been on Microsoft’s radar since 2000.

“We have sent them numerous cease-and-desist letters and have contacted them several times trying to get them to stop,” said Cates. “This type of company is particularly troublesome because they don’t care.”

The suit stems from Epic’s practice of what Cates called hard disk loading. In that process, Epic allegedly installed pirated versions of Windows XP Pro and Office XP Pro onto computers it sold to the public. Cates said customers thought they were getting fully licensed products, and they weren’t.

“They weren’t getting the update packages or any of the other benefits of a licensed product they thought they had paid for,” said Cates.

Microsoft also claims computers containing pirated software are more susceptible to harmful viruses, “worms” and “trojan horses.”

Cates admitted at this point Microsoft does not have hard numbers on how many computers containing the counterfeit software may be in the general public. Most of the information Microsoft used as the basis for its allegations against Epic was obtained by undercover “test shopping.”

“We don’t know how widespread the problem might be,” Cates said.

Cates indicated piracy costs the software industry more than $8 billion in revenue in the U.S. in 2007.

According to court documents, Microsoft is seeking an injunction against Epic and owner Johnny Rose as well as laying claim to all of the company’s profits earned from the infringement. A specific amount of damages was not detailed in the suit. Microsoft claims an audit would need to be performed to determine the amount of damages.

Rose did not return phone calls this morning.

Customers who believe they have received any suspicious software program from any vendor are encouraged to report their suspicions to Microsoft’s anti-piracy hot line at 1-800 RU-LEGIT (785-3448), or visit the anti-piracy web site www.howtotell.com.

Microsoft is absolutely right about this. I almost went to work for the bozo who owns this place.

The RIAA has explained just exactly why they’re such assholes — particularly to college students. Apparently, while young Americans’ music use patterns have “crystallized,” they still have ill-formed concepts of intellectual property.

Really. How weird. See, because I was under the impression that all Americans had ill-formed ideas on intellectual property. Be honest: how many times has someone told you that sending a manuscript through the mail will ensure your copyright on it? It’s nonsense advice, but it’s also one of the many things we “know” about copyright and intellectual property law that simply isn’t true.

Even so, we understand what a copyright is. It means someone else owns it and that they have the legal rights. We know it’s stolen music, you RIAA morons. What you have here, especially when it comes to college students, is more a case of civil disobedience than ignorance.

See, all us dumb college kids (full disclosure: I graduated in 2006, but I learned to hate the RIAA back in high school) used to buy music on audio tapes. They were clunky, clumsy, a pain in the ass to use, and tended to have life expectancies between one month and “I didn’t finish the song yet!” But they also cost what, eight bucks each?

Enter CDs. They’re cool, they’re convenient, and they’re damn hard to destroy. 15 bucks doesn’t sound so bad when you realize you’re going to have to buy the same tape two or three times if you actually like it. And then we realized, “Hey! This thing goes in the CD drive on my computer!”

Here it goes, then: the CD becomes an mp3 becomes a source of convenient, portable entertainment — portable even to different devices! But, by then, the writing was on the wall. We all bought our first CD burner and realized, “What the hell? A blank CD costs me like fifty cents. These bastards have been ripping me off!”

Yes. Tapes have moving parts, huge amounts of plastic, and assloads of magnetic tape inside them. CDs are… a plastic donut. Which do you really think costs more to make?

“Supply and demand!” they scream.

“3000% markup!” I scream back. I’m not certain even DeBeers has fleeced so many people so completely as our music industry.

“Would you steal [insert item on which you would not usually take a five finger discount]?” the RIAA would ask us in an attempt to activate our dormant consciences.

Well, let’s say it’s a pack of your favorite gum. At those prices… your gum would cost $45 dollars. You probably wouldn’t steal the gum, since a theft of so much at once is liable to be a federal offense these days, but you sure as hell wouldn’t chew it anymore. (Full disclosure: I have not purchased any music at all since I learned to multiply.)

And yet we have brilliant commentary like this from people in support of the RIAA:

I do agree with her comment, “And their appreciation for intellectual property has not yet reached its full development.” There truly is no evidence that the 18-22 year olds have any sense of intellectual property, and the right to vote and go to war hardly implies otherwise. The fact that kids download music free with no sense of wrongdoing is evidence of exactly what the RIAA spokesperson is saying. Older folks seem to buy music legally, hence likely have a more developed appreciation for intelectual property.

I’m afraid I have to throw out the BULLSHIT card on that. Older folks seem to buy music legally, hence they likely have –

• More disposable income than they know what to do with.
• No idea how the internet works.
• Not one ounce of frugality in their brittle, osteoporotic bones.

Unlike belly rings and a fascination with Britney Spears, music theft is not necessarily a sign of the moral depravity of the current generation. It’s just a sign that you have undermined the value of your product by increasing its cost beyond its perceived worth.

That’s right, babes — it’s all about keeping those last two in balance to keep the first one up. That’s how you sell things to people. Unless they’re old, brittle, rich, and stupid.